Being a Tourist in my Hometown
Unexpectedly, there was sunshine today! I thought I'd take advantage of it and be a tourist in my hometown and take a few pics of familiar places.
The mighty little village of Churchville, population 1,500, was founded in 1810 by Samuel Church. He build a saw mill and flour mill powered by Black Creek. The dam for the mill remains today, with a small park next to it. Flour milling remains a major industry in Churchville, with the "Star of the West" flour mill located near the railroad tracks continuing flour production to this day.
The Johnson House Restaurant, built in 1885 was originally a general store until it was renovated by Hiram and Ruth Johnson in 1946, and remains a steak house restaurant to date. One one side of the Johnson House is Walker Bros. Funeral home, and on the other side is the Riga public library. The library is on one of the four corners of Main street and Buffalo road, which is the main intersection in town.
Up on the hill behind the Citgo gas station on the corner is the Cobblestone schoolhouse, the United Methodist Church and Catholic church. The cobblestone schoolhouse was built in 1843 and represents a style of architecture of building with small (2.5"-10") uniform
rounded stones. Typically, cobblestones were laid in horizontal bands with each stone supported by a V-shaped mortar joint. Some cobblestone facades exhibit stones painstakingly matched in size, shape, and tonality of color. A banded or striped effect was achieved by laying alternate rows of stone of contrasting color.
In the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age left numerous small, rounded cobblestones available for building and the Pre-Civil War architecture in the region made heavy use of cobblestones for walls. It is estimated by some that 90 per cent of the cobblestone structures are with 75 miles of Rochester, NY, including Churchville. Today, the fewer than 600 remaining cobblestone buildings are prized as historic locations.
Behind the United Methodist Church and old schoolhouse is the Catholic church, directly across the road facing it is the Presbyterian church.
West on Buffalo road is the Churchville Elementary School, where I went to school for grades 1 though 6 before attending Jr. and Sr. High at the combined Churchville-Chili High school. (That's pronounced Churchville-ChI-Lie). Built in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration Project, until 1950 served grades 1-12 after which the combined school district for the vilage of Churchville the the town of Chili was formed.
'Downtown' Churchville is small, with the town offices in the middle building and various small shops surrounding it. Some years back the village had all the electric, phone and cable lines buried, beautifying the block immensely.
North of town is bordered by Black creek, on the other side is the large 742 acre Churchville public park. The park features a softball field, soccer field, tennis courts, playgrounds, a golf course, a natural ice skating rink and a disc (frisbee) golf course, five lodges and six shelters.
The former New York Central (now CSX) double-track mainline crosses on South Main Street and sees some 70 trains daily.
The mighty little village of Churchville, population 1,500, was founded in 1810 by Samuel Church. He build a saw mill and flour mill powered by Black Creek. The dam for the mill remains today, with a small park next to it. Flour milling remains a major industry in Churchville, with the "Star of the West" flour mill located near the railroad tracks continuing flour production to this day.
The Johnson House Restaurant, built in 1885 was originally a general store until it was renovated by Hiram and Ruth Johnson in 1946, and remains a steak house restaurant to date. One one side of the Johnson House is Walker Bros. Funeral home, and on the other side is the Riga public library. The library is on one of the four corners of Main street and Buffalo road, which is the main intersection in town.
Up on the hill behind the Citgo gas station on the corner is the Cobblestone schoolhouse, the United Methodist Church and Catholic church. The cobblestone schoolhouse was built in 1843 and represents a style of architecture of building with small (2.5"-10") uniform
rounded stones. Typically, cobblestones were laid in horizontal bands with each stone supported by a V-shaped mortar joint. Some cobblestone facades exhibit stones painstakingly matched in size, shape, and tonality of color. A banded or striped effect was achieved by laying alternate rows of stone of contrasting color.
In the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age left numerous small, rounded cobblestones available for building and the Pre-Civil War architecture in the region made heavy use of cobblestones for walls. It is estimated by some that 90 per cent of the cobblestone structures are with 75 miles of Rochester, NY, including Churchville. Today, the fewer than 600 remaining cobblestone buildings are prized as historic locations.
Behind the United Methodist Church and old schoolhouse is the Catholic church, directly across the road facing it is the Presbyterian church.
West on Buffalo road is the Churchville Elementary School, where I went to school for grades 1 though 6 before attending Jr. and Sr. High at the combined Churchville-Chili High school. (That's pronounced Churchville-ChI-Lie). Built in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration Project, until 1950 served grades 1-12 after which the combined school district for the vilage of Churchville the the town of Chili was formed.
'Downtown' Churchville is small, with the town offices in the middle building and various small shops surrounding it. Some years back the village had all the electric, phone and cable lines buried, beautifying the block immensely.
North of town is bordered by Black creek, on the other side is the large 742 acre Churchville public park. The park features a softball field, soccer field, tennis courts, playgrounds, a golf course, a natural ice skating rink and a disc (frisbee) golf course, five lodges and six shelters.
The former New York Central (now CSX) double-track mainline crosses on South Main Street and sees some 70 trains daily.
Labels: Christmas
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